Blunder Below

Blunder Below (1942)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

With WWII in full bloom, a lot of Hollywood shorts were changing their normal subjects to be more considerate of the times. This short has Popeye on a Navy ship where he's not smart enough to do the math, which would allow him to be able to fire his weapon better. Soon a Japanese submarine is spotted.

BLUNDER BELOW is a decent short for what it is but at the same time it's actually one of the weaker Popeye shorts from this era. The series was normally always good but this one here really is a minor blunder, just as the title says. The biggest problem with this short is that there aren't enough laughs to help keep it's running time moving. The animation is as great as always and the ending is a lot of fun but that's about it.

Am somebody who likes to love a vast majority of the Popeye cartoons and likes the character himself. A likeable character whose chemistry and animosity with Bluto (though there are a lot of cartoon with other adversaries and ones that don't fare too badly) one that drives the cartoons with such fun and energy, always a highlight. Do have a preference for the Fleischer era cartoons, that are generally funnier, more imaginative and of higher quality, though many of the Famous Studio offerings entertain, just inferior in quality.

'Blunder Below' is not one of my favourite Popeye cartoons, nowhere near so. 'Blunder Below' is amusing and well made, and do appreciate what it aimed to do, which was done reasonably well if not completely successfully. It is one of those cartoons that is not going to appeal to all and be easy to criticise, considering the type of cartoon it is (common at that time and not always my cup of tea) but as a cartoon and product of its time it is intriguing.

There are many good things. It is well made visually, the backgrounds have lost none of the meticulous attention to detail, it's fluid, Popeye still looks good and is recognisable in design and the shading has atmosphere. Every bit as good is the lively and lushly orchestrated music score, that has character and adds a lot to the action and enhances it.

Popeye is amusing and likeable still, he is convincing as a single character taking on a much larger army, and Jack Mercer doesn't disappoint with the voice acting. Enough of the gags amuse, the ending is great and the highlight of 'Blunder Below' material wise.

Having said that, 'Blunder Below' is not my definition of a great cartoon. It does fall into the trap that a wartime cartoon has danger falling into and has fallen into, it does get rather too heavy-handed and lays what it's trying to say too thick. Other cartoon characters have worked and gelled better in a wartime setting, for Popeye it feels too on the serious and out of character side.

For Popeye, 'Blunder Below' is on the bland side, it is great to have a change of pace where the usual characters and conflict are not seen and numerous Popeye cartoons have done this very well, but part of me did miss the zaniness and imagination of the best Popeye cartoons and the conflict lacking. Did find the supporting characters somewhat forgettable and one is a less than tasteful caricature, and while some of the gags are amusing there is agreed not enough of them.

Concluding, not bad and interesting, also definitely worth a look, but left me somewhat conflicted. 6/10.

Generally, I don't like Popeye cartoons because I used to have animated nightmares (when I was little) with Popeye and Bluto fighting. But this one is actually about Popeye being a SAILOR man! I highly recommend seeking this one out especailly if you are a WWII buff.

Popeye is in the Navy. His shooting exercise goes badly and he is sent below to shovel coal. Suddenly, an enemy submarine shows up. This is wartime Popeye released a couple of months after Pearl Harbor with a Japanese caricature. It is propaganda and some racism is to be expected. At least, they are portrayed as silly rather than evil.

This is the second wartime cartoon and Popeye is back on-board the big Navy ship with a bunch of sailors who all look twice his size. The captain is explaining something about the ship which sounds so complicated that even Popeye is totally lost, which is understandable.

A quiz then follows and Popeye can't write one answer. Afterward they all then go up top for some target practice. Naturally, our Sailor Man screws that up, too, and is sent to boiler room to shovel coal However, when an enemy submarine is spotted off starboard, there is only one sailor who can stop it? Care to guess who? How he does it is pretty funny with some unique sight gags. Just picture Popeye as a human torpedo and you get some idea of what you'll see.

Sometimes, Popeye is about as powerful as Superman.